Investing in People: Insights from WEF 2025 on Workforce Reskilling

The 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, themed “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,” calls for innovative solutions to global challenges. Among the key themes, the “Investing in People” session highlights the urgency of reskilling and upskilling workforce to meet the demands of an intelligent economy. As technology continues to reshape industries, equipping individuals with future-ready skills is not just an economic priority but a cornerstone of global resilience and growth.

Technological advancements are reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace, with nearly 40% of global employment now impacted by AI, according to the World Economic Forum.² This transformation is not only about automation; AI and other technologies are augmenting existing roles, allowing workers to focus on creative, strategic, and higher-value tasks.

As consumer demands grow, businesses refine their sales processes to meet and exceed expectations. Key strategies include:

According to the same report, companies that actively invest in workforce development see measurable productivity and employee satisfaction gains, with upskilled teams often outperforming their competitors.

Furthermore, McKinsey’s “Retraining and reskilling workers in the age of automation” indicates that by 2030, up to 375 million workers globally may need to switch occupational categories due to digitization, automation, and AI advancements.⁴ This is why the WEF annual meeting has “Investing in People” as one of the primary items on the agenda. The WEF underscores that investing in people is central to building modern societies and that the responsibility for workforce transformation does not lie solely with employers. Instead, governments, businesses, and civil society must collaborate to create inclusive frameworks for human capital development.

As the demand for new skills accelerates, the path to a future-ready workforce lies in collaboration between employers, employees, and society.

However, the latest research by the World Economic Forum reveals a concerning stagnation in employer-led upskilling initiatives for the first time in three years. Nearly 48% of workers believe that it is their employer’s responsibility to prepare them for the future of work, while only 20% view it as their own responsibility.

Employers must go beyond offering generic training programs to address this growing concern. Collaborative strategies like regular skills assessments, personalized career development plans, and continuous training initiatives are essential to building an adaptable, tech-savvy workforce. The same report also shows that only 11% of workers are currently “future-ready”—capable of excelling in uncertain environments and capitalizing on emerging opportunities. These high performers often benefit from tailored development plans and leadership training. Expanding this group of high performers requires organizations to prioritize employee development at all levels.

As organizations strive to remain competitive amidst technological disruption, Premier NX stands as a trusted partner in helping businesses navigate this transformation. Through the partnership-driven Premier Sync Framework, we collaborate with clients to seamlessly align workforce development initiatives with their overarching business goals, creating teams that are future-ready and empowered to lead in the Intelligent Age.

Premier understands that workforce transformation cannot happen in silos. Our co-sourcing model integrates directly into our clients’ operations, ensuring that recruiting, onboarding, and training strategies are tailored to their unique needs. This personalized approach enables businesses to strategically address skill gaps, equipping their employees with the competencies to thrive in emerging industries. We ensure that workforce investments are directly tied to operational excellence and long-term resilience by embedding within client cultures and workflows.

Here are Premier’s five service pillars, which are well-aligned with the WEF theme of “investing in people.”

Customer Experience (CX): As automation and AI continue to redefine customer interactions, reskilling customer service teams is essential to balance empathy with efficiency. Premier NX enables businesses to train their CX teams to leverage intelligent tools like chatbots and predictive analytics without losing the human touch.

Digital Transformation (DX): Workforce transformation is the primary pillar of digital transformation. Premier’s DX services integrate people, processes, and advanced technologies to create a culture of innovation and agility.

Sales Enablement: The WEF highlights the importance of workforce transformation, and sales teams are no exception. Premier’s Sales Enablement solutions equip sales professionals with the tools and expertise needed to leverage data-driven insights, AI-powered platforms, and advanced analytics.

Finance & Accounting Outsourcing (FinOps): As AI and automation revolutionize financial processes, organizations must prepare their finance teams to transition from transactional roles to strategic decision-making. Premier’s FinOps solutions combine cutting-edge technology with human expertise to fill resource gaps while fostering financial innovation.

Analytics & Insights: Premier’s Analytics & Insights solutions empower organizations to use advanced analytics to identify trends, predict workforce needs, and develop personalized reskilling programs.

At the WEF 2025, global leaders have highlighted the importance of investing in people to create resilient, future-ready workforces. At Premier NX, we are proud to align with this vision, combining advanced technologies with human-centered strategies to help businesses navigate the challenges of the Intelligent Age. Through our tech-enabled solutions and strategic partnerships, we enable organizations to transform their workforce capabilities, equipping them to adapt to change and lead innovation and growth.

Join us as we shape the future together. Contact us to discover the next phase of tech-enabled solutions that empower your organization to succeed in an ever-evolving world.

1. The Adecco Group Report – Working Through Change
2. WEF Report
3. TalentLMS – Employee Upskilling & Reskilling Research
4. How companies are reskilling to address talent gaps